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What is a hunting arrow?

A hunting arrow is an arrow that is designed to have some type of hunting broadhead attached to it to help take down prey. Typically, a good hunting arrow is going to have enough spine, which is the amount of strength or rigidity of an arrow, too impact and penetrate muscle, and possibly even bone. Traditional hunting arrows were made from a wooden shaft and used feathers for the fletching. Modern offerings are also available in aluminum, fiberglass and carbon shafts. The fletching has been replaced by plastic vanes which come in a myriad of lengths and colors. With the exception of wood arrows, hunting arrows will also have a threaded metal insert on the business end to attach either a fixed or mechanical broadhead for hunting, or a field point for practice.

Best hunting arrows by category

Arrows for hunting fall into two categories in terms of type of bow they are designed for, either a vertical bow or a crossbow. A vertical bow arrow will be considerably longer (usually around 30 inches or so) than a crossbow arrow (usually around 20 inches or so). Crossbow arrows will typically have a bit more spine due to the much higher forces imparted on them when firing, relative to a vertical bow.

For vertical bows, the arrows will then be further categorized by shaft material, whether it be wood, fiberglass, aluminum or carbon.
Due to the higher draw weights of crossbows, most good hunting arrows will either be aluminum or carbon to help survive the stress of the shot.

Vertical Bow Arrows

Vertical bow arrows are for the more traditional archery bows, the recurve bow, compound bow and the long bow. Typically 30 or more inches in length, these arrows are going to weigh considerably more than their crossbow counterparts. Because the draw weights are not as high as with crossbows, not only can these arrows be made from aluminum and carbon, but they can also be fiberglass or even the traditional wood.

Aluminum arrows

Arrows made from aluminum will typically have a bit larger overall diameter than other arrows, but they enjoy the specific advantage of never ‘blowing up’ when being shot. A disadvantage to shooting aluminum arrows is that they can be bent with relative ease when impacting hard objects and it is not always easy to tell they have been bent. It is recommended to always check your aluminum arrows before shooting to ensure they are still straight from the last time they were shot.

The Easton XX75 Jazz Aluminum Arrows with Feather Fletching (1916) are an excellent choice for the beginner shooter who is looking for an arrow that can be used for target shooting but also stand up to the rigors of hunting. The arrows come with real feather fletching so they are a great choice for a recurve bow. We found these arrows to be straight, light and fast. The colors may vary from what is shown in the actual pictures, but they will all match each other within the set purchased. We did experience some bending when using these against hard targets (wood and/or bone) during testing, but that is something to be expected with lighter aluminum arrows. All in all, these are good quality at a good price point for lower draw weight bows.

PROS:

True feathers are used for the fletching.

Light and very fast arrows.

CONS:

Tendency to bend due to thin walls.

Quality control is lacking on some arrows in the gluing of the insert.

The Golden Power 350 Spine Aluminum 2216 Arrow is a surprisingly good value for those who are looking for an arrow with enough spine to shoot from a heavy draw bow, but still not break the bank. These arrows are made from a shaft of 7001 T6 aluminum and are nice and straight. These arrows come with 85 grain practice points, so you should plan to change them out with whatever grain tip you plan to hunt with, but that isn’t much of an expense. Keep in mind that these arrows come from China, so you might find some QC issues with nock placement, but that is also an easy fix. All in all, it is tough to beat the value these arrows bring in terms of overall quality and cost.

PROS:

Very good value for the price.

Heavy enough to shoot from higher draw weight bows.

CONS:

Some quality control issues on nock placement.

Some shipping issues reported.

Fiberglass Arrows

Fiberglass arrows are among the most cost effective choices in arrows. The shafts are quite tough and will not be prone to bending. One of the biggest advantages of fiberglass arrows is that they will either be straight, or they will break…there is no in between. This shaft material is considered to be very tough and a good choice for a hunting arrow.

The I-Sport Fiberglass Hunting Arrows are a good choice for the value minded archer looking to get a good set of fiberglass arrows at a reasonable price point. These arrows are not going to offer that “wow” factor with the black shafts, and blue/white vanes, but they are going to offer you a good practice arrow that can also be used for hunting. One nice feature is they come with three bladed broadheads for hunting, so that is an extra expense you don’t have to worry about. As with many items from China in the lower price points, you may have to deal with some quality control issues, but all in all, these are a good value for the hunter who doesn’t want to spend a lot of bucks for a chance at a buck!

The Antsir Fiberglass Hunting Arrow is an excellent choice for the beginner archer or archer firing a higher draw weight bow. First off, it is important to note…these arrows are heavy. That isn’t a good thing if you are shooting a low draw weight bow, but can be a serious positive to those shooting very heavy draw bows. This is because an arrow that is too light can actually cause a heavy draw bow to dry fire as there is not enough resistance when launching the arrow. One positive to these arrows (and possibly a negative to those who do not pay attention) is that the nocks do not come glued. This means you can set them for whatever type of bow you are using, and then glue them in place. Please note: glue them in place once you have them where you want them! All in all, these are very well priced arrows that won’t hurt too bad when you lose one!

PROS:

Excellent per arrow price point.

Nocks are adjustable.

CONS:

Nocks do not come glued (not really a con, but something shooter needs to know).

Quality control issues.

Carbon Arrows

Carbon is considered by many to be the best overall shaft material for modern arrows. It is relatively light yet very strong, giving it an advantage over other materials. Like fiberglass, a carbon arrow will not bend permanently…it will either be straight or it will be broken…no guesswork here. Modern carbon arrows are available in various spine weights, but to take the guesswork out of things for the shooter, we have broken our carbon arrow categories out by draw weight of the bow.

The GPP Outdoors Carbon Arrows are a great choice for a beginning archer who wants to shoot carbon arrows but doesn’t want the huge price tag often associated with them. These arrows are going to be suitable to shoot from up to a 60 draw bow, although you might want to move up to 125 grain points if you are going to do so just to ensure there is enough resistance on firing for the bow to not experience a dry fire. These arrows fly straight and will be enough to get the job done, although don’t expect any arrow at this price point to hold up to much abuse in terms of hitting hard objects. The nocks do not arrive glued into place so you can adjust them to your specific set up…just be sure to glue them once you get them set!

The Carbon Express Maxima Red Fletched Carbon arrows are an excellent choice for any hunter who is looking for the ultimate hunting arrow. These arrows are stout and will stand up to the punishment of being shot from a bow up to 70 pounds in draw weight. They are extremely fast thanks in part to the dynamic spine control, also making them exceptionally accurate. These are not arrows that are going to be suitable for everyone’s pocket book, but they are certainly a truism for “you get what you pay for”. We have some reports that the arrows and/or fletching might not be an exact match for what is shown in photos, but these are certainly worth putting up with a little variance of color!

PROS:

Very accurate.

Extremely consistent from arrow to arrow.

CONS:

Vanes may not match colors pictured in ad.

Color advertised may not always be what arrives.

Wooden Arrows

Wooden arrows are the most traditional of all arrows and have been used for thousands of years. They are not as popular now for hunting due to newer materials and technologies becoming available. There are some ‘purist’ hunters who still prefer a good wooden shaft over more modern materials. For those hunters, we have included the below selection on wooden shafts.

What is the best wooden arrow for a bow from 40 to 65 pounds of draw weight?

The Huntingdoor Black Feather Wooden Shaft Hunting Arrows arrive with an A-803 150 grain arrowhead permanently fixed to them. This is good as you don’t have to purchase additional broadheads, but this also means you are going to be shooting your targets with a larger head than a field point. Realistically, it would be very difficult to not have the heads permanently fixed as a wood shaft is not one that is going to work with a threaded insert. Hunting with wooden arrows is becoming a bit of a lost art due to the popularity of more hearty materials for arrow shafts, making them a bit harder to find. These arrows are handmade, so don’t expect them to arrive super fast, and also don’t expect them to have the super tight tolerances of arrows made by computers. These are a good arrow that are at home in your quiver or on your wall.

PROS:

Long feather fletching both stabilizes as well as allows the arrows to be shot using a wider variety of rests.

Crossbow Arrows

Crossbow arrows are typically much shorter than a vertical bow arrow, usually about 2/3 the length or around 20 inches. There are some recurve crossbows that use arrows as short as 16 inches and others that use arrows as long as 24 inches, but 20 inches is the most common of the crossbow arrow lengths…always be sure to check what the manufacturer of your specific crossbow recommends in terms of length. Please note that you might see ads for a crossbow “bolt” as many companies and individuals use the term “bolt” and “arrow” interchangeably for a crossbow projectile. This is not correct as a true crossbow bolt does not have fletching or vanes to stabilize it. Any crossbow projectile that has fletching or vanes for stabilization is a crossbow arrow. We only share this to alleviate any confusion as you look at the various arrows on the market.

Aluminum arrows

As with the vertical bows, aluminum arrows fired from a crossbow are not prone to blowing up when damaged like a similar carbon or fiberglass arrow might. It is not something that is very common, but is something that is always a possibility, especially when an arrow strikes a hard object. Aluminum arrows should always be inspected prior to shooting to ensure they are straight with no dents or bends to ensure accuracy and safety.

What is the best aluminum arrow for use in up to a 150 pound crossbow?

The Wizard Archery Extra Survival Aluminum Crossbow Arrow is a great choice for the archer who is just getting started shooting a lower draw weight crossbow. These arrows are very reasonably priced per arrow and make for a great choice to learn to shoot as it won’t hurt too badly when you lose an arrow or destroy one hitting an unintended hard object. These arrows arrive with a half-moon nock, so they will fit most crossbows. These arrows can bend a bit easily if you are not careful of how you remove them from a target, but at this price point, you can always get a second set!

PROS:

Excellent value for the money.

CONS:

Shafts can bend easily if not handled carefully.

What is the best aluminum arrow for use in up to a 185 pound crossbow?

The Wicked Ridge Black Aluminum Arrows are a great choice for shooting from medium weight crossbows. These are arrows with an industry track record for proven and reliable shooting results. We note that in some ads these arrows are listed as coming with flat nocks, but in our experiences, these arrive with the Omni nocks. These arrows offer a sleek black finish that would allow you to add just about any color vanes if you wanted to customize them. We found these arrows to be quite fast as well as deadly accurate. We did note that one of the arrows had a vane start peeling, but that was easily fixed with a little fletching glue. We have spoken to more than one user who has also reported some issues with the vanes coming off, so investing in a bottle of glue wouldn’t be a bad idea. Overall these are really good arrows that will get the job done and won’t break the bank in doing so.

PROS:

Very tough arrows for aluminum construction.

Very accurate arrows.

CONS:

Fletching glue has some QC issues.

What is the best aluminum arrow for use in up to a 200 pound crossbow?

The Ten Point Aluminum XX75 Crossbow Arrow is an excellent choice for archers looking to fire a quality aluminum arrow from a heavy draw weight crossbow. These arrows are going to be heavy, weighing in around 435 grains with a 100 grain field point, so don’t expect to use these from a low draw weight crossbow. We found the Ten Points to be fast for their size, and very accurate with very little shift from left to right. These arrows come with an orange Omni nock and with CPC inserts. We wish we could have selected the colors of the vanes, but that isn’t too hard to change, and given the quality and hard hitting nature of these arrows, we didn’t worry too much about it.

PROS:

Hard hitting.

Very tight tolerances.

CONS:

No choice of vane colors.

Carbon Arrows

As with the vertical bow carbon arrows, crossbow carbon arrows are considered by many to be the ‘gold standard’ of crossbow arrows. They are not prone to bending so you can have the confidence that they will fly straight. The carbon arrow also weighs a bit less and tends to penetrate tissue better than other materials. Carbon is light and strong, but also generally the most expensive of all arrow shaft materials.

What is the best carbon arrow to use in a crossbow with up to a 175 pound draw?

The Barnett Carbon Crossbow Arrows are a good choice for shooters who are shooting a lower draw weight crossbow but are looking for a strong and accurate arrow. The arrows arrive as a set of 5, not the more traditional 6, but are still a great value due to their performance. These arrows offer a good amount of penetration in tissue and should easily provide pass throughs at reasonable ranges. Keep in mind that the colors you see in the ad may not be the actual colors you receive, but also keep in mind that colors don’t help your accuracy! These are not heavy arrows, so beware of shooting them from too fast of a crossbow or you might find them a bit overpowered and accuracy will suffer.

PROS:

Very accurate.

Excellent penetration.

CONS:

Arrows pictured may not be exactly the colors that arrive.

What is the best carbon arrow to use in a crossbow with up to a 200 pound draw?

The Carbon Express Pile Driver Crossbow Arrow is a true heavyweight that is going to deliver punishing results down range. This is an excellent choice for the archer that is using a high draw weight crossbow and wants to match up that high power with a heavy arrow to help maintain some serious kinetic energy down range. These arrows arrive with moon nocks inserted but also come with a set of flat nocks in the event your crossbow calls for them. The Pile Drivers are built strong and are designed to give a long life so long as you keep them away from super hard objects. Please note that these are heavy arrows and are not really meant to be shot from lower weight crossbows as you will find there is a lot of drop without some good speed delivered by the crossbow.